This invention relates to fishing equipment and more particularly to a fish stringer for the securing of freshly caught fish while in the field.
Fish stringers are one of the most popular ways used by fisherman to store freshly caught fish while in the field. One type consists of a length of small diameter cord to which a small hoop is attached at one end and a pointed shank is attached to the other. The shank is threaded through the first caught fish and then passed through the hoop thereby securing it. The shank end is tied to the boat, belt loop, dock or any place close enough to suspend the fish in the water. As each subsequent fish is caught, the string is untied and the fish is threaded through the shank, and the knot is tied again and the fish lowered into the water. This type of stringer requires two hands to operate and entails quite a bit of tying and untying of knots. Another type of stringer consists of a length of chain with metal clips attached thereto. This device eliminates the continual need to tie and untie knots but requires all fish to be lifted out of the water as each new fish is attached and also requires the use of two hands. It is inconvenient to lay fish down while tying and untying knots and pulling a clip stringer out of the water to gain access to clips. This device is also inherently noisy, especially if used alongside a metal boat.
As noted above, fish stringers are old in the art as exemplified for example by U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,453,381; 2,518,541; 2,563,480; and 4,308,643. A releasably held fish stringer can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 2,950,888; while U.S. Pat. No. 3,550,823, shows a fish stringer attached to the belt of a fisherman. However, none of the above prior art references anticipate the specific device of the present invention nor render the details thereof obvious, as will be apparent hereinafter. The device of the present invention is intended to overcome some of the problems of the previous devices noted above and to provide a stringer device that is more effective and easier for fisherman to use.